Table of Contents
Database settings in detail
Learn about SQL Server authentication modes and how to configure FotoWeb to connect to a remote SQL Server.
14. September 2026
Table of Contents
General information
There are two authentication methods available when connecting to a SQL Server:
- SQL Server Authentication: A user that only resides inside SQL Server, you have to provide a username and password.
- Windows Authentication: Authenticate by OS, the user is a Windows or a Domain user.
For more detailed information, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144284.aspx
When using a “Trusted Connection” in the Database Settings in FotoWeb or during FotoWeb installation, the connection to MSSQL Server doesn't require sending the username and password; it uses Windows authentication with FotoWeb’s process account (effectively the process account specified in the Operations Center).
When not using a trusted connection, a username and password must be specified. The user you enter here must be an MSSQL Server login, not a Windows account. FotoWeb then uses SQL Server authentication. If you enter a Windows or domain user in the username and password fields, you will see the following error message on the client: "Login failed for user 'domain\username'."
To investigate further what causes the error message, the SQL Server log files will provide more details: "Login failed for user 'domain\username'. Reason: Attempting to use an NT account name with SQL Server Authentication".
To sum up, when not using a trusted connection, an MSSQL Server login must be specified, not a Windows/Domain user.
FotoWeb and MSSQL Server on different machines
If the FotoWeb server and the MSSQL Server are in the same domain but on different machines, and you want to use a trusted connection, you have to use a domain account. A Windows account won't easily work across machines in this way. The process account for FotoWeb should then be a domain account. The same domain user must be added as a Windows login in MSSQL Server Management Console.
Now, when a trusted connection is established to the SQL Server, the domain account has access and participates on both sides of the authentication process.
What access must FotoWeb’s database user account have?
FotoWeb needs a database user to read and write data to the database daily. The MSSQL Server Role this user needs is a Public Server Role, as well as the three following roles;
- db_datareader
- db_datawriter
- db_ddladmin
What access must FotoWeb’s database administrator account have?
When creating an MSSQL Server login for administrative tasks in FotoWeb, if prompted during installation or upgrade, or when you select Create and verify Database in FotoWeb Configuration, the account must be part of the sysadmin Server Role. This user is used to create the database if it is not already created.
Sysadmin rights are required during FotoWeb setup and when updating it to a newer version. If this is not acceptable, you can manually run the SQL scripts to create the database structure with dbo permissions. These scripts are available in the Server settings folder in the Fotoware folder in Windows ProgramData. Some of these scripts will have to be run each time FotoWeb is updated to a new version.
Database settings during installation with a standalone SQL Server
When performing a fresh installation of FotoWeb, you can specify a database user and database administrator, or use a trusted connection. The user you specify for the database user will be created if it doesn’t exist. If you select a trusted connection for the database user, then FotoWeb’s process account will be created as a Windows-authenticated user on the SQL Server. The user you specify for the database administrator must already exist as a SQL Server Login before proceeding with the installation. Credentials for the database administrator are not permanently stored - they are used to create the database tables. The credentials will be stored if you also enable automatic database backup.
Note
If you select to use trusted connection for the database administrator, make sure that FotoWeb’s process account has sysadmin access on the SQL Server before you proceed. From SQL Server 2008 and later the Windows Group BUILTIN\Administrator is no longer included in the SQL Server sysadmin fixed Server Role on new SQL Server 2008 installations.
Changing from trusted connection to specifying a database user and vice versa
If you have installed FotoWeb and later find out that you need to change the database settings you can do so in the FotoWeb Configuration under Settings – Site – Database. If you change the database user, select Create and verify database to create the user. If the user doesn’t have access to the database, selecting Test connection will return an error message